Debian Partners Program - description

What is the Debian Partners Program?

This program provides a way to recognize companies and projects
that provide ongoing assistance to the Debian project.
Since these partners are providing a
service of some sort to Debian, we will officially recognize them and
maintain a good working relationship with them.

Donations to the Debian project do not qualify an organization for Partner
status. Donations will be recognized separately.

What are the criteria for Partners?

There are several types of partnerships.
Development partners contribute directly to the development of
the distributions and related materials.
Service partners provide other services to Debian.

provide a hardware based service to Debian (net access, accounts, etc.)

commercial vendors who maintain key Debian packages

assist or lead efforts to port and maintain Debian packages
on their hardware

provide free or reduced cost technical service or consulting to Debian

Service Partners

assist Debian in distribution of releases

provide a forum for Debian's press releases and announcements

provide a free or reduced cost non technical service to Debian

To be a partner, at least one of the criteria above must be met.
Partners who fall under more than one category can be listed under each
category that they qualify for.

What does Debian do for the partners?

Debian will work closely with all partners to ensure that Debian
understands the partners needs and concerns, and vice versa. This will
enable Debian to remain properly focused within the market through
the partner's feedback.

Each partner will have space on the Debian partners web page that
describes the nature of the partnership.
The partner may provide links to be included in this information.

What do the partners do for Debian?

In addition to meeting the criteria for partnership stated above,
the partners should prominently mention Debian in the areas affected by the
partnership.
They should work with Debian to promote the projects interests.
Possibilities include:

Links to relevant Debian web pages

Advertising Banners/Buttons/Splashes

Links to current Debian News/Events/Projects

...and many more!

How does a vendor become a partner?

An email should be sent to
partners@debian.org
with a proposal for partnership.
This proposal will be reviewed
by Debian and discussed with the prospective partner. Debian will
then make a decision on whether or not a partnership is possible.

How and when do partnerships end?

Debian or the partner may choose to end the partnership at any time.
When the partnership ends, the web page entries related to the
partner are removed. Partnerships may end for several reasons: